Perú is the third largest country in South America, bounded on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, to the east by Brazil and Bolivia, to the south by Chile and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. It lies entirely within the Tropics between the Equator and 18° south. Geographically, Perú is divided into three major regions, a narrow coastal belt separated from the Amazon rain forest by the northern extension of the Andes mountain range. This narrow coastal belt is mainly desert and contains Perú's major cities and its best highway, the Pan-American, which runs the entire length of the country. The eastern slopes of the Andes receive much more rainfall than the western slopes and form part of the rain forest of the Amazon Basin.

Peru has a strong resource base (mining, forest products, fish products, natural gas) with growing non-traditional exports. The country is one of the most extensively mineralised regions of the world and has a long history of mining activities dating back to pre-Columbian times. Perú plays host to some of the largest and lowest cost precious and base-metal mines in the world, including Alto Chicama, Yanacocha and Antamina. Many of the world's major mining companies, including BHP-Billiton, Newmont, Phelps Dodge and Barrick have operations in the country. It is a leading producer of copper, zinc, silver and gold, and also produces molybdenum, tin, iron ore and a number of industrial minerals. Peru has a well-developed domestic mining service industry which supports virtually all mining activities over the mining life-cycle. The system of mining tenure is well-conceived and operates efficiently and predictably. Where carried out responsibly and respectfully, mining is an accepted part of the Peruvian social fabric. However, in areas where mining activity threatens traditional rural ways of life, there has been growing conflict between communities and mine developers.

Peru is a Presidential Democracy: the presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who has overseen a robust macroeconomic performance.

Peru’s population reached an estimated 29.5 million in 2009. The Peruvian economy grew by more than 4% per year during the period 2002-06, with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Growth jumped to 9% per year in 2007 and 2008, driven by higher world prices for minerals and metals and the government's aggressive trade liberalization strategies. Peru's rapid expansion has helped to reduce the national poverty rate by about 15% since 2002, though underemployment and inflation remain high. Despite Peru's strong macroeconomic performance, dependence on minerals and metals subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and infrastructure inhibits the spread of growth to Peru's non-coastal areas. President GARCIA's pursuit of sound trade and macroeconomic policies has cost him political support since his election. Nevertheless, he remains committed to Peru's free-trade path. The United States and Peru completed negotiations on the implementation of the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA), and the agreement entered into force February 1, 2009, opening the way to greater trade and investment between the two economies. Peru’s Country credit rating was upgraded to Investment Grade.